With the summer break winding down, fall soccer is kicking off across the country. With that in mind, we sat down with Noah Walker, Commissioner of the Maryland Super Soccer League, to discuss the league, how the Spring season went, and what we can expect from MSSL in September.

So how was the Spring in the MSSL? Who was champion?

The spring season of MSSL was very exciting. We expanded D1 to 9 teams (AFC Dobes, FC InterAtlantic and Rockville joined), but it was the original teams which had the most success (Playoff teams were AllStars United, Steel Pulse, Christos FC, and 4188).

Allstars United celebrate the regular season title.

The regular season title winners were AllStars United, while Christos won the playoff championship (defeating Allstars 4-3 in the finals). Hearts of Steel won the D2 championship, defeating Goodnow in the finals.

Spring was the second season for the MSSL, any lessons you've learned over two seasons now?

We are a new league, and we have had to improve as we experience what works and doesn’t work. In the first season, we had some disciplinary issues with one specific team (who are no longer with the league). As a result, we implemented strict fines and suspensions for player and coach Red cards ($100/ player red; $500/ coach red). Additionally, we instituted a “Review Board” of 3 elected managers to review each transgression (since all of our matches are filmed, we utilize video for the review). The review board has the jurisdiction to reduce, uphold, or increase punishments in accordance with the infraction.

We have also made efforts to improve our media presence. In addition to Livestreaming ALL of our matches, we featured “90 Minutes in 60 Seconds” highlight videos on Instagram for all matches. We still utilize Twitter for weekly match/ league announcements, but have increased our Instagram presence to engage with a wider and younger audience.

This season, we plan to switch our Livestreaming platform from ElevenSports to YouTube, to make our games more accessible to our audience. YouTube seems to offer a better User-Experience, without forcing the viewer to watch advertisements with each new view.

Headed into fall, what are your goals for the league?

Our basic goal is the same as when we first created this league together 1 year ago. The MSSL provides representative membership to clubs because all decisions are voted on by the Manager Board. We will provide the highest quality of competitive soccer in the region, without having to leave Maryland. We also aim to provide the highest level of video and social media coverage, to showcase our quality product to fans all over the world.

In time, we hope to consolidate all the best players and clubs in the DMV under one league structure. There are many league offerings out there, but we believe our clubs’ pedigrees and records in the annual State Cups speaks for itself

When does the season kick off?

We will kick off both D1 and D2 on Sunday September 11. We will be releasing the schedule within a week! The reason we have delayed on releasing the schedule is because we had a surge of teams sending in applications for D2 this week. Once we review and vote on all these applications, I will finalize and release our schedules.

Saw some mention of a D2 league on twitter. How will that function with your top tier? How have you grown the D2? What kind of plans do you have for it? Is D2 kicking off this season?

Yes! We actually had our inaugural season of D2 this past spring, with 6 teams (Goodnow FC, Hearts of Steel, EliteVision, ACFC, OneNation, Union Athletic). Of this group, Hearts of Steel and Goodnow FC achieved promotion. We did not relegate this season, since we experienced some attrition (FC InterAtlantic folded), and we voted to expand D1 to allow for parity in scheduling.

This season, we have an exciting lineup of D2 teams. So far, it’s EliteVision, Das Bierhalle, StreetfootieFC, Ristozi FC, A3 Soccer, and Baltimore Kickers. Since we interviewed, the league has added four more teams to its D2 league: FC Barcroft, Alexandria United, Lions FC, and Old Baltimore.

Our Promotion Relegation structure will see the champion of D2 be promoted, and the last place in D1 be relegated. Then, the runner up from D2 will play the 2nd to last place team from D1, and the winner of this match will retain a spot in D1.

Any matches we should have circled on the calendar?

Christos vs Steel Pulse is always an exciting one to look out for. Also, any matches featuring AllStars, 4188, or SureSports will not disappoint. AFC Dobes, Rockville, and MD Bobcats finished last season below what their expectations would have been, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one of these clubs bounce back and make a push for playoff this season

- Dan Vaughn